Our 4 Main Approaches

CBT – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

The central idea of CBT is that what you think and do affects the way that you feel.
CBT is a way of counselling that helps people understand the links between thoughts, feelings and how they react to life’s stressors.

CBT encourages making changes in our thinking and actions in order to improve the way we feel. It is a collaborative therapy that requires active participation by the client. Lots of people find CBT approaches helpful with all sorts of different psychological difficulties.

Mindfulness

is a state of active open attention on the present. When you’re mindful you carefully observe your thoughts and feelings without judging them good or bad.
Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to your current experience, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future.

A strengths-based approach

concentrates on the existing strengths of an individual, a family, or a group and is sometimes called an asset based approach. Strengths and assets refer to different elements of a person’s life that help or enable a person to deal with challenges and to meet their needs and achieve their desired goals. Strengths can include your own abilities, skills, knowledge, your motivation and your potential. They also include your social networks and community resources.How does it work…
A strengths-based approach does not attempt to ignore the problems or difficulties. However, the focus is shifted from getting caught in labeling and limiting options, or form focusing on the can’ts as opposed to the cans, its aim is to recognise a person’s unique capabilities and strengths and work with these to empower people to take the lead in their own care process.

Positive Psychology

Traditional psychological treatment often involves better understanding your life to date, with a particular focus on traumatic or negative events that might be impacting your mental health. Positive psychology on the other hand focuses on examining your strengths and positive attributes, to create a greater sense of wellbeing.

Typically, Positive Psychology will have you to query your values (the beliefs that guide your behaviours). Examples of values include honesty, independence, creativity and love. These might be different to the values that are shared by your family, community or culture.

Ask yourself:
What really matters to me? What do I stand for in life? What do I want to be remembered for? Once you’ve established your values we can help you work towards living your strengths. Positive psychology argues that strengths are expressions of your values in action. They are ways of thinking, acting and feeling that lead to exceptional performance and energise you.